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Seroconverted: Early 80sTested & confirmed what I already knew: early 90s

Current regimen: Atripla. Last regimen: Epzicom, Sustiva (since its inception with NO adverse side effects: no vivid dreams and NONE of the problems people who can't tolerate this drug may experience: color me lucky )Past regimensFun stuff (in the past): HAV/HBV, crypto, shingles, AIDS, PCP

some reports say that this woman is actually a homeless mentally disturbed woman who is known to often spout off craziness like this in city council meetings. Regardless of whether she's homeless or not, her rambling nearly incoherent diatribe clearly shows that she suffers some sort of mental illness, so I think really very few people think much like her.

There are quite a few sites making fun and/or jeering this women for her comments when what I think really needs to happen is for this women to get some sort of mental health care.

Logged

leatherman (aka mIkIE)

All the stars are flashing high above the seaand the party is on fire around you and meWe're gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes- Pet Shop Boys chart from 1992-2015Isentress/Prezcobix

Seroconverted: Early 80sTested & confirmed what I already knew: early 90s

Current regimen: Atripla. Last regimen: Epzicom, Sustiva (since its inception with NO adverse side effects: no vivid dreams and NONE of the problems people who can't tolerate this drug may experience: color me lucky )Past regimensFun stuff (in the past): HAV/HBV, crypto, shingles, AIDS, PCP

There are quite a few sites making fun and/or jeering this women for her comments when what I think really needs to happen is for this women to get some sort of mental health care.

Someone who lives in her town responded ... somewhere, I forget which site ... to say that she's schizophrenic, living in an assisted living complex nearby and always turns up at these meetings with a prepared response. She's tolerated and treated politely, but ignored overall. They (her fellow townspeople) all know her and understand she has problems. As she's living in an assisted care facility, I guess she's already getting the help she needs.

Knowing that she's well known and tolerated in her town begs the question of why someone saw fit to post the video, but I guess that person probably has maturity issues or is just plain mean.

It also begs the question of why she's permitted into the meetings, but I suppose she's not a physical danger to anyone and as she's still a citizen despite her challenges, that means she still has the right to free speech in a public meeting. After all, she quietly accepted it when she was told her five minutes were up. If she had a habit of being disruptive (not relinquishing the mic, for example), they probably would have banned her long ago.

I have to say though, the guy sitting behind her was hilarious at times. I must look like that myself at times when I'm over in Am I.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I suppose she's not a physical danger to anyone and as she's still a citizen despite her challenges, that means she still has the right to free speech in a public meeting. After all, she quietly accepted it when she was told her five minutes were up. If she had a habit of being disruptive (not relinquishing the mic, for example), they probably would have banned her long ago.

They can if they're habitually disruptive at an open meeting - and by that I mean things like not relinquishing the mic when their time's up, loudly and continually interrupting other speakers, and similar shenanigans. Public speakers usually have a time limit to keep meetings from dragging on for hours.

I remember a furor in the town where I grew up (Cleveland Ohio suburb) over a disruptive member of the public who was eventually banned from open public city council meetings. It didn't come quick enough for most people, hence the furor. They gave that guy about a year's worth of monthly warnings and chances before finally pulling the plug on him.

Literally pulled the plug - he would never relinquish the mic and always tried to rant on for as long as he could. One night a council member finally pulled the mic's plug out of the sound system, unceremoniously called an emergency vote and they declared him banned*. The plug-pulling member got a standing ovation.

Heh.... the ranting guy was a neighbour. That's why I remember it so vividly even though I was probably only about eight at the time. He kept running for councilman of our ward and I don't think he ever got more than ten votes. He was the laughing stock of our block and even more so after he got banned. Whatta guy!

*edit - he wasn't banned from attendance, he was only banned from being allowed time to speak.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Hope it's okay for me to comment here. I could only listen to about half of her rambling when I had to turn it off....hello...to me, it sounded as if she was talking about the priests that had interactions with their bellboys (which that bothered me when it occurred in the Catholic churches even though I'm not Catholic, it was sad) and then she said it was gay people....that was wrong. Dumb B..I don't like stereotypes...

Thanks to those of you who showed some empathy for this woman, because she obviously suffers with serious mental illness. For me, it's one thing to highlight people who rail against HIV/AIDS because they are bigoted or even fearful of the disease. It's quite another to make fun of someone who suffers from mental illness. I find laughing at this woman, to be no less distasteful that those who demean us, as our being poz is just as permanent as her mental illness.

The Lincoln Journal Star says her family has thought the same thing -- for her need to get psychiatric help.Her brother, Patrick Svoboda of Ogallala said her family has tried to get her help multiple times, but unless she harms herself or others, there's not much more they can do.Meet Jane Svoboda. She is a 52-year-old woman diagnosed with schizophrenia Svoboda lives at an assisted-living facility in Lincoln and is listed as a protected person, according to Journal Star. Her brother, Patrick Svoboda, is her conservator because she is incompetent, the documents say."To me, it shows how little society really cares about people with mental health issues," Patrick Svoboda told Journal Star. "She does have a very tender heart ... but anything she says is certifiably schizophrenic ... she's not some crazy conservative."He was unaware of the video's popularity, but wasn't surprised -- he knew it would be a matter of time before she got in trouble somewhere.He said he's disappointed the video garnered such attention and jokes without the whole story. Patrick filled Journal Star in with more details.Part of the problem, the paper says, were that web sites "published the video and stories Friday with little context and Svoboda's name misspelled." Huffington Post took a notice to it, with the quote below, but that is all.

Logged

leatherman (aka mIkIE)

All the stars are flashing high above the seaand the party is on fire around you and meWe're gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes- Pet Shop Boys chart from 1992-2015Isentress/Prezcobix

Thanks to those of you who showed some empathy for this woman, because she obviously suffers with serious mental illness. For me, it's one thing to highlight people who rail against HIV/AIDS because they are bigoted or even fearful of the disease. It's quite another to make fun of someone who suffers from mental illness. I find laughing at this woman, to be no less distasteful that those who demean us, as our being poz is just as permanent as her mental illness.

Joe

You're right. It is easy for me in this case to laugh at and make fun of this scenario, but to really see that she is struggling with an issue that she herself has no control over was a more appropriated and mature step. I guess I let my anger from her comments get the best of me without seeing that some maliciousness was afoot here. I can only presume that people of her community knows of her affection and quietly tolerate her for it is not her fault, while some mean person took the opportunity to not only to humiliate her but to also broadcast her antics, sickness, to the world. It is her mental state that caused an apparently normal looking person to act so queerly and not a mean spirited person spouting hate. I see that now and I hope she is being cared for and looked after. Again, my apologies for not seeing the forest before the trees or, in other words, not seeing the big picture.